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Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Cambridge MP Takes Underfunding Of Mental Health Care To Government

MP Julian Huppert has taken the issue of the chronic underfunding of mental health care in Cambridgeshire to the government.

Having met regularly with patients, including those affected by the proposed closure of Lifeworks, and with representatives from the Mental Health Trust, he has now raised the issue in Parliament.

He quizzed the Health Secretary today, saying “Cambridgeshire has been under-funded for years and mental health particularly so. This is getting worse as a result of the PFI contracts that were signed, the differential deflator between mental health and physical health and the fact that mental health demand is going up.”

He asked the Health Secretary to meet him and the Mental Health Trust “to work a way out of these problems which won’t harm patients.”

Julian said: “The health system in Cambridgeshire is one on the worst funded in the country and mental health care here has suffered as a result. This is a problem we have had for years, but it cannot be allowed to continue.

“We also have a great deal of money committed to expensive PFI contracts which puts a huge drain on our resources.

“The government needs to take a close look at what is happening here in Cambridgeshire and address this issue under a new health funding formula. I’m glad the Minister for Care agreed to meet me and the Mental Health Trust, and I look forward to the outcomes from that meeting.”